Teaching German

News

More asylum requests processed in Germany than rest of EU combined - reports

New figures show Germany received and processed more asylum requests in the first nine months of 2016 than the rest of the EU combined. Italy and France received the second and third highest number of requests.

Figures released Tuesday by the EU statistics office, Eurostat, show that around 420,000 asylum requests were processed in Germany in the first nine months of 2016 - more than in all other 27 EU countries combined.

A total of 756,000 asylum requests processed in the EU between January and September 2016, 55 percent of which were handled in Germany.

Of the overall 988,000 EU asylum requests made in the same timeframe, around two-thirds were made in Germany.

Figures vary, however, as to the exact number of requests made in Germany. Eurostat puts the number at 612,000, while the Federal Interior Ministry puts it at 658,000.

Speaking to German newspaper Die Welt, which broke the story on Tuesday, Johannes Singhammer, one of the vice presidents of the German parliament, said: "The oft-quoted notion that Europe is shifting responsibility for taking in refugees to the southern countries simply doesn't hold when you look at the figures."

The number's also "make clear that refugee crisis in Germany has not been overcome," Singhammer said.

The number of asylum requests for 2016 does not necessarily reflect the number of refugees that entered Germany in the same period. Many of those who applied for asylum last year had already entered the country a year before, but had been unable to make a formal request. The German government recorded around 272,000 arrivals in the first nine months 2016 using its electronic registration system.

Asylum in the rest of the EU

Italy processed some 68,000 asylum requests in the first three quarters of 2016 while receiving around 85,000 requests. France processed nearly the same number at 63,000.

Although Italy processed the second highest number of asylum requests, the total still only comes to less than one-sixth the amount processed in Germany.

Denmark, meanwhile, saw a sharp decrease in the number of asylum applications, falling from roughly 21,000 in 2015 to 5,300 in the first nine months of 2016.

The figures published by Eurostat and Die Welt also shows which other EU have fallen short when dealing with asylum cases. In Greece, the first European destination for many refugees that fled conflicts in the Middle East, the government processed just 7,600 of 30,000 asylum requests.

When the migrant crisis broke out in 2015, Greece was widely used my incoming migrants as a transit country than a destination. However, with much of the Balkan route into central and western Europe since closed off, the indebted country has struggled to provide basic provision to the some 50,000 migrants still housed in refugee camps.

dm/kms (dpa, KNA)

Journey to asylum: refugees in Rosenheim

Daily searches

Carrying out searches on trains traveling over the German-Austrian border has become a daily routine for police officers in the Bavarian town of Rosenheim. Over 11,000 refugees have arrived in the border region since the beginning of the year - most of whom have traveled from Syria, Eritrea and Sudan.

Journey to asylum: refugees in Rosenheim

Record numbers

During the checks, police search train compartments, toilets, and luggage storage spaces. The numbers of refugees traveling illegally can range from 50 to almost 150 per train. More than 3,000 have been found since the beginning of August.

Journey to asylum: refugees in Rosenheim

'Are we in Germany?'

Officers meticulously check documents and passports aboard the trains. Many of the refugees are reluctant to leave with police until they know they're in Germany. Others hope to continue traveling on to Sweden, which is known for its strong social system among asylum seekers.

Journey to asylum: refugees in Rosenheim

Summer heat

Sheltering from the midday sun, the refugees wait in turn to receive a numbered armband. A police bus then transports the asylum seekers to a nearby former sports hall where they receive water and a small amount of food.

Journey to asylum: refugees in Rosenheim

New friendship

27-year-old Charles (left) and 31-year-old Bellostanley are just two of the thousands of refugees to have arrived in Rosenheim this year. "I left my country there because there are a lot of problems going on right now," Charles told DW. The two met each other during their journey from Niger. "Now we are like brothers. He’s the only one I have now," Charles said.

Journey to asylum: refugees in Rosenheim

Waiting game

In a former sports hall, dozens of families and friends rest on camp beds while they wait to register with police. Many of the refugees have been wearing the same clothes for days. In summer temperatures of plus 30, a muggy perspiration fills the room.

Journey to asylum: refugees in Rosenheim

Prized possessions

Mobile phones, money, belts, cigarettes; all personal belongings are packed into see-through bags, bearing the same number as the fluorescent strip around the wrist of each refugee.The possessions are returned to refugees before the leave to apply for asylum in nearby Munich.

Journey to asylum: refugees in Rosenheim

Language barrier

During registration in the "Bearbeitungsstraße" or "processing center," each refugee must have their photo taken. The wait can last for hours as Rosenheim authorities try to find an interpreter who can speak one of the many dialects from regions all over Africa and the Middle East.

Journey to asylum: refugees in Rosenheim

One step closer

Every asylum seeker must give a copy of their fingerprints. Basic checks are also carried out by police for contagious diseases including tuberculosis, whooping cough and scabies. After passing the examination, the refugees receive an "Anlaufbescheinigung" which enables them to travel on to Munich where they can apply for asylum.